Balloon catheters are widely used in the medical arts in a variety of procedures. Typically, balloon catheters are advanced within a lumen defined by a body vessel until a portion of the catheter, such as the balloon, reaches an intended point of treatment within the body vessel. The balloon is then inflated to affect a particular treatment, such as dilation, stent deployment, or another treatment.
In some situations, it may be desirable to provide a treatment effect at a location outside of a body vessel, such as the interstitial space surrounding a particular vessel. Unfortunately, while the medical device arts provide several examples of catheters adapted to provide a treatment effect at a point of treatment within a body vessel, there are few examples of catheters suitable for affecting treatment at a location outside of a body vessel.
A need remains, therefore, for new catheters and methods of using catheters.